Water companies are required (Applicable Regulations and Statutes) to obtain the approval of the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) before any construction work can begin. To assist water companies in understanding and meeting this requirement, the applicable regulatory mandates along with the procedure for submitting water works proposals are outlined below.

Procedure for Submitting Water Works Project Proposals for Approval

To assure compliance with the aforementioned statutes and regulations and to avoid potential fines and penalties, the following tools are provided to guide the certified operators and/or licensed consultants of public water systems through the review and approval process: 

1. Public Water System General Application For Approval or Permit - This application replaces the traditional project cover letter, and is required for all submittals that are to be submitted to DPH for approval or permit.

2. Technical Standards & Application Checklists - Currently standards and/or application checklists are available for the following proposals:

3. If Technical Standards & Application Checklists are not currently available for your project proposal, then the applicable chapters and/or sections in the Guidelines For The Design & Operation of Public Water System Treatment, Works, and Sources should be used to guide the consultants and/or operators in the preparation of the plans and/or drawings that are submitted to the Department for review and approval. To confirm the conformance with the existing guidelines, a Certification of Conformance with the Guidelines for the Design and Operation of Public Water System Treatment, Works, and Sources (pdf) shall be completed & forwarded to the department along with all required submittals.

4. Two sets of prepared & certified plans, specifications, drawings, studies, or reports of the proposal that requires the Department's review and approval must be included with all submittals unless otherwise noted on applications. If installing new treatment or modifying existing treatment, a Water Treatment Plant Classification Form (pdf) must also be submitted with the proposal.

5. Upon completion of the approved project, a Certification of Completed Water or Treatment Works Construction or Installation (pdf) shall be completed and forwarded to the Department for review and verification before the completed project is approved for active use. If required, an Operator Verification Form  (pdf) must also be submitted in addition to the certification.

Footnotes

1. An agreement in lieu of plans & specifications review and approval can be considered by the Department. If you would like to use the agreement option, please make your request in writing for consideration by the Department. In the interim, no financial commitment to construct or replace a water distribution main shall be made prior to a written notification to DPH and no construction or replacement shall be made without prior approval by DPH.

Applicable Regulations and Statutes

Section 19-13-B51l of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies (RCSA)

Approval of the commissioner of public health shall be obtained before the well water is made available for use.

Section 19-13-B80 of the RCSA

No chemical substances other than those used on September 1, 1964, with the approval of the commissioner of health shall be added to public water supplies designed for human consumption whether in the course of filtration, for control of plant or animal life, or for any other purpose without prior approval by the commissioner of health. Before installation of equipment for such addition, plans and specifications shall be submitted to and approved by the commissioner of health. These plans shall provide procedures necessary for the satisfactory operation of the installation, including the proper testing of the water for chemical content, which procedures shall be followed by any person, firm, corporation or municipality having jurisdiction over the supply.

Section 19-13-B102(d)(2) of the RCSA

The state health department must be notified before entering into a financial commitment for a new public water system or increasing the capacity of an existing public water system, and the approval of the state health department must be obtained before any construction is begun. This includes construction of supply and treatment works, transmission lines, storage tanks, pumping stations and other works of sanitary significance. It does not include the routine extension of laterals or tapping of new service connections.

Section 25-33(b) of the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS)

No system of water supply owned or used by a water company shall be constructed or expanded or a new additional source of water supply utilized until the plans therefore have been submitted to and approved by the Department of Public Health (DPH).

Section 25-32a of the CGS

"water company" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, municipality or other entity, or the lessee thereof, who or which owns, maintains, operates, manages, controls or employs any pond, lake, reservoir, well, stream or distributing plant or system that supplies water to two or more consumers or to twenty- five or more persons on a regular basis provided if any individual, partnership, association, corporation, municipality or other entity or lessee owns or controls eighty per cent of the equity value of more than one such system or company, the number of consumers or persons supplied by all such systems so controlled shall be considered as owned by one company for the purposes of this definition.

Section 16-262m of the CGS

(a) As used in this section and section 8-25a, "water company" means a corporation, company, association, joint stock association, partnership, municipality, other entity or person, or lessee thereof, owning, leasing, maintaining, operating, managing or controlling any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well or distributing plant or system employed for the purpose of supplying water to fifteen or more service connections or twenty-five or more persons on a regular basis. (b) No water company may begin the construction of a water supply system, and no water company, except a water company supplying more than two hundred fifty service connections or one thousand persons, may begin expansion of a water supply system without having first obtained a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction or expansion from the Department of Public Utility Control and the Department of Public Health.

Section 8-25a of the CGS

No proposal for a development using water supplied by a company incorporated on or after October 1, 1984, shall be approved by a planning commission or combined planning and zoning commission unless such company has been issued a certificate pursuant to section 16-262m. The municipality in which the planning commission or combined planning and zoning commission is located shall be responsible for the operation of any water company created without a certificate after October 1, 1984, except a water company supplying more than two hundred fifty service connections or one thousand persons created without a certificate between October 1, 1984, and September 30, 1998, if the water company at any time is unable or unwilling to provide adequate service to its consumers.